Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Nigeria, Dr Fahad Al Taffaq, has pledged to partner Nigeria through the National Parks Service to preserve threatened species of plants and animals.
He stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Conservator General of the Park, Dr Ibrahim Goni, in his office in Abuja recently.
He said the partnership will identify how to execute the initiative by identifying the animals going into extinction and conserving them in a confined place before reintroducing them back to the wild.
He said Nigeria needs to identify the species they want to work upon and identify the national parks where they could be reintroduced, adding that will add value to the country.
He said climate change is an important area they would focus on in Nigeria, especially around the Lake Chad Basin where a lot of people called home, adding “through initiatives and through understanding the situation in the region, I believe we can work along with other economic and humanitarian initiatives to support these people.”
Speaking, Dr Goni who, noted that they are working to preserve and protect the nation’s natural heritage and the cultural edifices for unborn generations, said they protect the environment in tangible and intangible manner.
He assured that National Parks would work with the UAE to ensure that animals that are threatened do not go into extinction.
While noting that the last statistic on lion showed that Nigeria has only 53, which are found mostly around the Kainji National Park, he said vultures are now restricted to parts of East and Cross River State.
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